Hamilton Financial

Whistle while you work......

UK state pension age will soon need to rise to 71, say experts Research on life expectancy and birth rates shows that ill health makes status quo unsustainable

Share buybacks are very in vogue - good thing or bad?

Deep Dive: UK companies lean towards buybacks as trusts weigh discount narrowing efficiency Low UK company valuations have spurred a notable increase in share buyback activity in recent years, but the investment trust sector continues to debate its efficiency as a discount management tool.

Good evening and a Happy New Year to all!

In very bullish news for Bitcoin and the cryptocurrency industry more generally, the SEC today approved 11 long awaited BTC ETF's.

https://www.reuters.com/technology/us-sec-approves-some-spot-bitcoin-etfs-2024-01-10/

This means there are now regulated ways to invest in the largest cryptocurrency by market cap. The announcement should pave the way for others.

We will continue to watch this space closely and we are happy to help anyone looking to invest in cryptocurrencies. Please reach out if you'd like to know more.

US SEC approves bitcoin ETFs in watershed for crypto market The U.S. securities regulator on Wednesday approved the first U.S.-listed exchange traded funds (ETFs) to track bitcoin, its Chair Gary Gensler said, in a watershed for the world's largest cryptocurrency and the broader crypto industry.

Last month we shared our quarterly digest with our client database. We talk Scottish politics (of course!) and ESG, we share interviews with 3 of our fund managers and lots more.

We have another group that we email occasionally with updates, including the quarterly (we do try!). You can sign up to be a part of that group at the bottom of the post.

Hamilton Financial Quarterly Digest (January 1st to 31st March 2023) - Hamilton Financial Living in Scotland, we have become accustomed to a First Minister adept at deflecting attention from her domestic record by pointing to the “shambles” at Westminster (Boris was a gift that kept on giving!). Out of the blue, Nicola Sturgeon resigns, leaving the SNP Government in shock.

Do we have another bank run on our hands?

Regulators Close Another Bank and Move to Protect Deposits The Treasury, Federal Reserve and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation unveiled a plan to contain fallout from Silicon Valley Bank’s collapse.

Ewan Markson-Brown is one of the very few Baillie Gifford fund investment managers who didn’t actually retire from Baillie Gifford – he decided instead to do something unheard of – he switched to another firm of fund managers!

Ewan ran a stunningly successful Trust called Pacific Horizon Investment Trust at Baillie Gifford. The Trust NAV returned 100.6% in the 3 year period to 31 May 2021 when he resigned. He joined CRUX, London based asset managers in September 2021 and started their Asia Pacific ( ex-Japan) unit trust. It had a horrid start losing 28% in the first year (1/10/21 – 1/10/22), but since Autumn 2022, it has picked up returning 13% from 1/10/22 to 14/2/23.

Ewan attended our Hamilton Financial Investment Advisory Panel meeting in mid-December 2022. I am sorry to say the recording machine failed which is why there were no minutes – apologies! However, I am pleased to say, Ewan sent me a CityWire recording of an interview with Caroline Hug saying much the same as he said to us at our meeting - here it is – you will get a flavour of how he invests and why he is back again buying Chinese stocks - I think you will enjoy it.

Markson-Brown eyes ‘cheap’ Tencent and Alibaba again WATCH: Crux's Ewan Markson-Brown believes the tech majors are attractive again, after stating that he felt pressured to hold the stocks at Baillie Gifford.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/02/03/some-of-wall-streets-biggest-names-are-exposed-to-the-adani-enterprises-plunge.html

Some of Wall Street's biggest names are exposed to the Adani Enterprises plunge Shares of India's Adani Enterprises have plummeted over the past week after the publication of an extensive critical report from U.S. short-seller Hindenburg Research.

Since ChatGPT opened to the public last November, it has been the talk of the virtual town. Excitement about the possibilities vs. concerns about enabling the machines jostle for centre stage.

Ben at Stratechery takes the time to deep dive, using the simple analogy of homework and how AI will impact it (and teaching more generally) moving forward. Read more here

AI Homework The first obvious casualty of large language models is homework: the real training for everyone, though, and the best way to leverage AI, will be in verifying and editing information.

Cathie Wood and Ark Invest didn't have the best 2022, but they are still deep in the weeds when it comes to new tech and expansive thinking. Their annual Big Ideas is always worth a look - you can download it here

Big Ideas 2023: Innovation is Taking Off Big Ideas 2023 highlights the technological breakthroughs evolving today and creating the potential for super-exponential growth tomorrow.

Simon Evan-Cooke is a member of our Investment Advisory Panel. His writing style is pithy and unusual. His article on how to eliminate investment errors is an excellent read – you can judge for yourself…………..

Your New Investment Diet Here’s one simple exercise for quickly improving your investment returns.